Demitri Demakis was the secretive one in his family. He held his private life so close that even his family didn’t know he’d spent the past eight years watching someone he loved die. The death changed him so profoundly. Demitri dropped out of his life and moved to Idaho to be with his brother. He thought he thought his heart would be safe in the small college town, but that was before he laid eyes on Aaron Billings.

With the end of the season came the loneliness of winter for Head Soccer Coach, Aaron. He longed to be with Demitri, but didn’t know how to break through the ice surrounding the big Greek’s heart. Maybe patience and perseverance would begin to melt the thick veneer. Aaron was willing to do almost anything. Who knew, maybe by spring the gorgeous, sullen man would be his.

Excerpt

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It was only ten o’clock when Demitri walked into his tiny studio apartment. After being outdoors all evening, the small space felt especially cramped. He kicked off his shoes and got another beer out of the fridge before turning on the TV. He clicked rapidly through the endless stream of sitcoms and detective dramas, until he stopped on a travel show.

The sparkling blue waters of the Aegean Sea seemed to call to him. Without really seeing or hearing the actual program, Demitri was transported across the Atlantic Ocean to his favourite place in the world. The one place he still considered home, although the memories were too painful to live there.

He pictured himself and Basil sitting beside the pool, looking out over the sea, sharing some joke. Demitri smiled as tears filled his eyes. God he missed him. So much. Some days it took everything he had just to get out of bed, but every time he felt like giving up, he heard Basil’s voice in his ear. You know, you can’t just curl up and die because I did. You’re starting to get fat and lazy, neither of which are becoming on you. Go out and live, live for me if not for yourself.

Shaking his head, Demitri flipped off the television and went to bed. Looking up at the ceiling, he thought briefly about Basil’s last days. He was so small Demitri was able to cradle him in his arms for hours at a time, his already lean body almost skeletal. The ever present oxygen tube running into his nose was the only medical treatment he’d allowed. Basil had refused to die in a hospital and Demitri had honoured those wishes to the bitter end.

Flipping over, Demitri dug the picture out of the box under his bed. Turning on the bedside lamp, he studied the three-year old picture. They had just rung in the New Year and Basil’s butler, Cyril had snapped the shot for them, the cancer already taking its toll on Basil’s former good looks.

Demitri ran his finger over the outline of Basil’s face. “I miss you,” he whispered. He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and put the picture back in the box.

Glancing at the clock he saw it was time for the sports report on the local news. He knew Aaron wouldn’t call, they’d already said their goodbyes for the night. At least when he thought of Aaron he felt lighter instead of lonely. Demitri tried to push Basil out of his mind and focus on Aaron. He needed this, this feeling of life.

Light brown hair, tipped gold from the sun, a long sinewy sportsman’s body, just begging to be worshiped, Demitri felt his cock begin to fill and kept going. It had been so long since he’d held a healthy man in his arms. He’d had sex only a handful of times in the past eight years. Sadly they were meaningless encounters with one of Basil’s employees. Being surrounded by death sometimes became too much for him to handle and he desperately needed confirmation that he was a healthy male. He’d regretted every quick fuck with Christian, but Basil was always the one to soothe his guilt.

Damn, his erection was deflating fast. Aaron, Aaron, he said over and over in his mind, trying to bring back the image of the handsome man. Shiny golden eyes came to mind. He knew they were technically considered light brown, but in the sunlight, Aaron’s eyes seemed to glow. He thought of rubbing his body against Aaron’s and began grinding his renewed arousal against the mattress. The longer he pictured him, the more features came to mind. The slightly crinkled skin around his eyes attested to years in the sun, just as the bronzed skin proved he was a man who loved the outdoors.

Riding faster now, Demitri closed his eyes and thought of kissing those beautifully sculpted lips. He thought about the softness of the skin and the sweet taste of Aaron’s tongue. Flipping over at the last second, he shot in his hand with Aaron’s name on his lips.

“Thank you, Aaron,” he whispered into the darkened room. For one night he felt he was in the land of the living.